The Crack in the Lifestyle
by shiksa
Summary: Everyone is assigned one body for a damn good reason, unfortunately Roxas has to share his. But Axel loves him anyways. Rated M cuz I like to swear and talk about naughty things. AkuRoku.
1. Chapter 1

New story! Huzzah! Since I'm almost done with one of my stories, I figured I'd start up a new one. And yes, it is another AkuRoku. Why? Cuz I freaking looooove them. Anyways, hope it's enjoyed! Btdubbs this was not beta-ed so if it's grammatically funked up with spelling errors abound, it's just cuz I wanted to post it now.

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Casually walking into the apartment, tossing the keys onto the bookshelf at the entrance, setting the bags down on the tile floor of the kitchen; they were all good feelings, all making him feel like he belonged there, was more than welcome. He wouldn't have a key if he wasn't he reassured himself constantly.

"Hi Axel," the redhead had to admit he didn't notice the other man in the kitchen prior to this moment.

"Hi..." He paused a moment to inspect. The big smile, ass planted firmly on the counter top, legs swinging back and forth as he gazed back happily. "Sora." Axel finished with a grin as he picked up the bags, setting them down on the counter next to his companion, beginning to empty the contents and put them in the proper places.

"How was work?" Sora asked as he slid further down, still smiling.

"Work was fine," he nodded, focusing on putting groceries away. "How was uh...hanging out? How long have you been here anyways?" Sora shrugged and grinned a little wider as Axel was forced to linger between his legs to reach up into a cupboard.

"Not long. Maybe half an hour?" Sora said as he took advantage of his position, locking his legs together behind his back, pulling him closer. Axel only rolled his eyes as his feet reluctantly shuffled closer to the boy on the counter top.

"Where's Roxas?" He asked, looking down the hallway though he knew damn well Roxas wasn't anywhere in the apartment.

"Where do you think he is stupid?" Sora laughed as he laid his hands down on Axel's tall shoulders, pulling him down, looking into his bright green eyes and desperately trying to kiss him, but as always, Axel groaned in frustration and pulled back. Sora frowned as he managed to wriggle out of his entwined legs and put the rest of the groceries away. "Come on Axel..." He whined quietly as he watched him walk into the living room. "Roxas never even has to know! I won't tell!" He argued as he pushed himself off the counter and followed him, plopping down onto the sofa on his knees, practically on top of the other man. "And I know you want to. I can see it in your face." He smiled as he delicately ran his fingers across Axel's temple and into his hair, watching him suffer as he closed his eyes and sighed.

"No Sora." He said firmly and turned on the tv. He automatically retracted his hand and glared at the redhead. Axel cautiously turned to look at the boy next to him, taking a breath of relief as he saw his eyes close and his head shake. "Hi," he said with a grin as he watched the confused look on his boyfriends face fade away slowly, just as it always did.

"Hey," he replied with an exhausted smile as he sighed and nestled himself against his chest, an action that was gladly accepted as his arm wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him closer. "Sorry, I wanted to be here when you got home but..."

"It's alright. It was just Sora."

"Oh good, because you know I love when the one that wants to fuck you comes out." Roxas scoffed as he focused his attention on the television.

"Hey, you know I'd never do anything," Axel said as he tucked his finger under his boyfriends chin, forcing his gaze up. Roxas rolled his eyes but couldn't contain his smile, especially when Axel leaned down and gently kissed him. "I love you, and they're not you."

"They're kinda me." He argued with a grin but now Axel rolled his eyes, planting his mouth over the other man's in order to make him shut up. He laughed as he felt thin fingers traveling down his torso to the edge of his pants, breaking the kiss in giggles as he tugged at the button and pulled the zipper, simultaneously kissing at his neck. "Aren't you tired? You just got off work."

"Well I was but then you got me all hot and bothered."

"I didn't, Sora did," Roxas corrected with a grin, biting down on his lip to stifle a moan as Axel's thumb dug down into his hip.

"And how can I possibly contain myself for long after you get back? He looks just like you." He smirked as he forced his boyfriends small body down on the sofa, quickly stripping his pants away and tossing them across the room, grinning wider as Roxas threw his head back to laugh.

"So why don't you just fuck him then?" The blond asked with a cocky smirk that soon diminished with a moan.

"Because I want you." Axel said with a smile. "I only want you."

~0~

The room was quiet as always as Roxas walked in, the empty chairs placed in a small circle, not many people had the need to show up for something like this. The blond looked around and leaned against the faux wood panelling, crossing his arms over his chest as he aimed his face at the ceiling and closed his eyes. He was alone, perfectly and beautifully alone in this room. There were no voices, no one trying to overcome him, no feeling of being slowly suppressed, pushed down into himself until he was non-existent, only surviving in the darkness within him. The dark where he would lay in wait to be retrieved or pulled back in a flash.

"I don't think I'll ever understand why you get here so early." His rare moment of solitude, the instants where he felt truly alone were few and far between, and now one was shortened by an interuption. However, Roxas didn't mind as much when his eyes slowly opened and he saw Riku standing before him.

"Well I enjoy the quiet time, but you seem intent on ruining that every time, don't you?"

"Ruining things, it's what I do best," Riku said with a smirk as he dragged chairs into the room, placing them in a tight knit circle.

"You are extraordinarily good at it." Roxas quipped with a smirk as he sat himself down, patiently awaiting the rest of the small group. "So how's life Riku?"

"Life is...alright." He decidedly stated as he took a seat.

"Alright? How's Zack?"

"Fine, uh I'm sure he's fine."

"Oh Riku..." Roxas frowned as he laid his hand on his friend's shoulder in sympathy. "What happened? You guys were so good together."

"He couldn't handle it," he shrugged as he leaned back, smirking at the ceiling. "He said he's sorry, he loves me but it's too much. You know, typical crap. Like it's not you, it's me. I just can't handle something like this, I'm not secure enough or some bull like that. Which we all know is total shit because he's the cockiest mother fucker I've ever met." Rox nodded in understanding though he didn't really understand, or didn't know how it felt at least. He had never been dumped because of this before. It had never seemed to be a problem.

"I know how you feel," he tried to empathize anyways, but knew it wasn't truly appreciated when Riku scoffed and arched his brow at him cynically. "I mean, kinda. I can imagine."

"No, you can't. But that's fine, I don't need you, nor really want you to know, what it's like anyways."

"Well isn't that big of you."

"I'm just a good person and an amazing friend," he leaned forward onto his knees, looking through his silver bangs at the man next to him. "But I have to admit, I don't understand how it hasn't been a problem before." Roxas shrugged with wide eyes aimed across the room. He didn't get it either. Riku had a cakewalk compared to what Roxas had to deal with, yet everyone Riku had been with claimed that it was too much to deal with his one little quirk.

"Don't ask me, I'd take Terra any day over Sora. He's killing me."

"Is he still hitting on Axel?"

"Apparently non-stop and I can't make him quit it which is, of course, aggravating to no freaking end."

"What does Axel do?"

"Ignore him to the best of his ability then pommel me the second I come back, it's exhausting honestly." Riku chuckled and shook his head.

"I feel no pity for you my friend."

"Yeah yeah, I know. Poor Riku and his super straight alter-ego that can't stand him being happy."

"Well it's true! I swear to god Terra is sabotaging me and any relationship I try to cultivate. Now _that_ is both aggravating and exhausting."

"Why can't Zack just ignore it?"

"You know? I really have no clue."

"He seems like the type who would let shit like that roll right off his back."

"He usually is, he lets everything slide but for some reason when Terra comes around, he's like ballistic when I get back. It's kinda weird, and he won't ever tell me what happened or what Terra said. Sometimes I feel like he thinks I'm faking it or something, like just to piss him off."

"Riku, that's insane."

"_I_ know that and _you_ know that, but I don't think he does," Riku sighed again and watched as people began to enter the room. "Doesn't matter now anyways, we're broken up."

~0~

"Hi baby, how was your meeting?" Roxas shrugged as he collapsed onto the sofa, clasping his hand to Axel's as his arm wrapped around him.

"It was ok I guess," he leaned against the redhead and blankly watched the television, listening to the chomping sound of popcorn being crushed between teeth. "Zack left Riku."

"Really?" Axel asked in saddened disbelief. "Damn I really thought Zack would stick around, he seemed like nice guy."

"He is a nice guy, but this kinda shit is difficult. I get it." Ax looked down, already knowing what was coming. He would reassure Roxas for the millionth time that he wasn't going anywhere, that nothing he, or rather someone else, could do would drive him away, that he loved him more than anything. He didn't mind saying it over and over, he kind of liked it weirdly enough. Rox was needy but Axel liked being needed. "I just wanna make sure you know I get it." He said, still watching the television though they both knew neither was paying attention.

"Not leaving," he said simply, throwing another handful of popcorn into his mouth and kissing the top of his lovely boyfriends head. "I like your crazy, I _love_ your crazy. Think of how boring my days would be without you. At this point, no other man could ever compare because he'd be too sane." He smirked but kept his eyes on the tv, chuckling lightly when he felt an elbow nudge his ribcage.

"Shut up," Roxas smiled regardless. "I love you." Eyes still glued to the screen.

"I love you too." Axel forced his lovers gaze on him and smiled as he pressed their lips against one another.

"You taste salty." He said with a smile as he pulled away, laughing when Axel flicked popcorn to his tongue and tried to kiss him again.

"There's something I don't get though."

"Hm?" Roxas hummed as he nestled against the bony chest behind him.

"I mean, what's not to handle? Riku has _one_, Riku has Terra."

"Well not everyone can be as understanding and kind and _wonderful_ as you."

"Suck up." Axel smirked as he chewed.

"Damn straight," he smiled again as he sighed and let his head fall back. "But I mean, you've met Terra. He can be a little tough to handle."

"I guess, but I mean it's like with me and Sora. If he starts bugging me too much, I just leave and that's that."

"I dunno, Riku said something about how Zack would be all flustered once Riku got back, like he thinks Terra was saying things that maybe he shouldn't be saying. Probably something about Riku or Zack being gay."

"Just because Terra is straight doesn't mean he's a homophobe."

"Well we'll never really know because Riku has no idea what was happening and Zack would never tell him anything."

"How disappointing, another mystery left unsolved."

"And he said something weird earlier, he said he felt like Zack thought he was pretending or something, just like faking it? Zack never said anything like that, but I mean...that's just how Riku felt, like that Zack thought he was faking."

"That's insane," Axel said and downed another handful. Roxas looked up at him, waiting to see if there was more. "Why would anybody fake this?"

"God I love you."

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And voila! Another story is started, hopefully it will be well received? Reviews would be absolutely lovely. :D


	2. Chapter 2

Ok this one is probably not the best, however I wanted to prod the story along and this does a way decent job of that I believe. Thanks to my lovely beta Redfaerie :D

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"Baby where are the onions?" Roxas called from the kitchen, urging Axel to get up and come help him cook. Instead, the only response was a prolonged hum, an indication that Axel was trying to think, but couldn't remember. That or he was distracted by whatever he was doing. Roxas would have put money down on the latter. With an aggravated sigh, he peered out of the kitchen, watching his redheaded boyfriend fiddle with something while he sat on the couch. A remote or game controller, he was sure. "Axel! Onions!" His attention was grabbed, eyes widened as he tried to hide whatever it was he had been messing with. "What are you doing?" The blond asked suspiciously as he slowly walked forward.

"Nothing," he replied with a coy grin, slipping his hands, and the secret object, into his pockets as he stood up. "Onions are probably in the pantry, but if there aren't any, would you like me to go get some?"

"Sure," Roxas answered, still skeptical of the other mans intentions. "What's in your pocket?" He asked with a nod at his pants. Axel only shrugged as he walked past, laying his lips on the disheveled, sandy-colored mop. Roxas wouldn't let his eyes leave his strong, sturdy back as he bent into the kitchen pantry, searching for the required vegetable.

"Nope, no onions. I'll go grab some. And some wine?"

"Sure, why not?" He couldn't seem to sink these notions, though he knew he should just let it go. Years of barely trusting himself had unconsciously led to mistrust of anyone else. "Just come back soon, my brother's gonna be here in like half an hour."

"Yes sir," he smirked as he walked out of the apartment, leaving Roxas to his own devices. He grabbed his phone from the charger, sighing as he began to dial.

"'Ello?"

"Dem, we need to talk."

"Oh hi Roxy! What's wrong? Did something happen? Ooh did Axel finally sleep with one of the alters?"

"Why do you _always_ jump to that conclusion?"

"I always figure it'd be the most interesting one." He could practically hear that indifferent shrug that Demyx had made his signature. "So what's up then? You sound...stressed."

"I am stressed. Axel's acting weird and I don't know why." There was an audible pause, making Roxas furrow his brow as he tried to wait patiently. "Demyx, why are you being quiet? You're never quiet." And then the clicking sound, the sound of Demyx clacking his tongue against his teeth, resembling the sound you'd make if you wanted to call over a squirrel. He was keeping a secret. "Demyx, tell me right now."

"Oh Roxas! I'm sorry!" He whined on the other end. "I have to go, um we'll talk later!" And then the sound of static aloneness, that eery emptiness on the other line. Roxas hadn't heard Demyx sound nervous like that in years. He hadn't sounded like that since his parents were getting a divorce.

"Oh god," he felt his heart squeeze, his eyes started to sting. It must've been his phone he was holding, reading a text from someone new, someone completely sane. And now it would soon be over, everything they had. He knew the day was inevitable but he had hoped it wouldn't come so soon. They had only been together...four years. Ok, maybe it had been a while. And now apparently his time with Axel was expired. Had he done something wrong? Was it too much for the laid back redhead to handle? Had the years finally eaten his hope, making him realize that this would _never_ end? And with that final thought, Roxas felt his head reel. His body and whoever was in it sat quietly on the sofa until someone knocked at the door. "Hello?" His head cocked to the side, a vacant smile on his face to greet the guest.

"Roxas?" The man at the door watched his head shake side to side, his eyes closed with a grin. "Ah, damn. Here I was hoping to see my brother. And who did I get?"

"Oh you can get it, you're smart Cloud!"

"Well you must be Xion since the other ones seem to hate me."

"Aw come on! _Roxas_ doesn't hate you." She smirked through her boy's face, stepping aside to let the brother in. "Can I have a hug?" The older man rolled his eyes with a grin as he hugged his brother's body. "See now I bet Roxas just loved that."

"Where's Axel?"

"I have no idea, something happened though. I remember he was stressed then I was here!" She shrugged, throwing her hands up and letting them fall to her sides, smacking against her thighs as she walked into the kitchen. "I think I'm supposed to be cooking, but I've never been very good with that..." Xion stared at the stove, jumping slightly at the sound of food crackling in a heated pan. Cloud slipped his jacket off, throwing it on a chair before joining her in the kitchen, gently pushing her aside as he started stirring the mix of vegetables and meat on the burner.

"So why was he stressed?"

"Not sure, I wasn't here. More than likely something to do with us. It seems to always be us." Xion said as she slumped into a chair, resting her chin in her palms.

"Don't be so bummed. Besides, I'm sure if Roxas could pick one that didn't annoy the crap out of him, it'd be you."

"Which is strange considering I'm a girl trapped in his manly body." She laughed and shook her head. "Well, not manly, but you know what I mean. With his penis and everything."

"I got onions!" Axel walked into the kitchen, spotting his boyfriend at the table, his boyfriend's brother at the stove. "Hi Cloud! I didn't think you'd beat me here. I just ran to get some onions that Roxas apparently needed, right?" He looked over at the man at the table who only shrugged, a placid smile on his face. "You are not Roxas, are you?"

"Hi Axel," she said, her voice slightly higher than Roxas' normal tone.

"Hi Xi," he responded with a soft sigh. "You want me to chop one of these up?" He turned his attention to Cloud.

"Go for it, I'm assuming that's what Rox was intending."

"Xion, I know you _usually_ have no idea, but do you have _any_ clue when Roxas will be back?"

"Aw, is my company not wanted tonight?"

"You're lovely, but tonight was kind of important."

"Maybe that's why Roxas was stressed! He kinda disappeared because he got overwhelmed by something."

"He was...what? He didn't know anything, how could he get overwhelmed?"

"Well you're not a very good actor, were you being obvious?" Cloud asked, poking chunks of beef, sliding it across the gleaming, greased metal.

"...Maybe." Axel groaned, taking his frustration out on the onion beneath his knife. "Crap, I didn't mean to be. I just...I really didn't want him to figure out anything was going on." He added as he scraped onions into the pan. Xion sat with her face in her hands, wide eyes flicking between the two men in the kitchen with her.

"What didn't you want to be obvious?" She couldn't help asking, though she was fairly sure neither would tell her. She knew of course that she could keep secrets from the lot of them, but anyone who knew Roxas refused to believe her when she repeated it time and time again.

"Nothing," they both blurted at the same time.

"Poo, you've made me curious and now you're withholding information?"

"Yes, yes we are." Cloud said, smirking as he brought the food to the table. "Hungry?" He asked her. Xion only pouted, aiming her borrowed face at Axel who avoided her gaze. She knew the trick. Axel was a sucker when it came to pouting, especially considering it was his boyfriend after all.

"I _swear_ Roxas will never find out. I keep trying to tell you we have separate minds but you never listen! _You_ never listened to me either." She complained, openly frowning at the blond man she had learned to consider her brother. He only shook his head as he scoffed.

"I don't have any reason to." He explained simply as he shoveled food onto the three plates, taking a seat between his brother's boyfriend and his brother's body.

"How can you possibly have separate minds when you're all stuck in the same body?" Axel asked as he started to eat,

"How should I know? I'm not a psychiatrist. All I know is that I'm a girl and I'm stuck with a dick." Xion pouted as she prodded the food on her plate.

"Come on Xi, don't get bummed. At least you're a cute boy." Axel smirked as he watched her mockingly stick out her tongue and roll her eyes.

"I'm going to sleep. It's never as good as it is when I have the body." The lithe, boyish figure stood and made his way into the bedroom. Cloud and Axel watched Roxas' body leave the kitchen, exchanging an exasperated glance when they heard the bedroom door close. The redhead sighed as he massaged his face roughly, Cloud only smirking and shaking his head. Axel had gotten good at it, but no one was as good as Cloud was. He had been doing this since Roxas was ten.

"Shit," he exhaled as he leaned back in his chair. "I was really hoping no one else would show up tonight."

"Can't be so sneaky with him. He assumes the worst and then he's just gone."

"You don't think he'll be gone long right? I've been stressing about this and I kind of just wanted to tell him already."

"It depends on how upset he was, the bigger the stress factor, the longer he's gonna be gone for. I think the longest he was ever gone was five days about six years ago?"

"Jeeze, the longest he's been gone in the last couple years was ten hours. Who'd you get instead?"

"Sora, it was pretty unpleasant. I had to go out and pick him up from the dorm, they said he couldn't stay until he was 'back to normal.'" Cloud scoffed, obviously still bitter about the entire situation. "I mean he was in that dorm specifically because of the stupid fucking alters and then they send him home. I mean Sora can be annoying but these people were ridiculous. I tried to tell them to just ignore him but they said he was being disruptive or something completely irrelevant like that." He focused on his plate, not touching it, just keeping his eyes on it. Axel watched the man with a sideways frown.

"You're a good brother dude." He nodded in response, his eyes still down.

"I never really had much of a choice."

~0~

As soon as he woke up in his bed, he knew it was Xion that came before him. He despised her habit of taking advantage of a body to sleep with, it caused soreness and dizziness on his end. When he would finally awaken, making his triumphant return from wherever it was exactly he had been, his head would ache and his body would ache and on several occasions, he was just nauseous. So while Xion would simply drift away, her reality becoming fuzzy, Roxas would resurface. He gripped the side of the mattress as he stood, willing his body to stand erect.

"How long was I asleep?" He asked, his voice hoarse. Axel looked up from his book with slightly widened eyes that immediately softened at the sight of his haggard boyfriend at the entrance of their living room.

"About four hours. But it's only nine. I saved you some food if you want some, but Cloud already left. He said he's sorry, he had to get home but he'll come by tomorrow to see you since you have the day off."

"I have the day off?" He asked, obviously surprised at this new development in his work schedule.

"You do, I called the office around six and told them you weren't feeling well."

"Thanks I guess, but I could've gone just fine."

"Well Xi said you were stressed so I thought maybe a day off would do you some good. I'm a considerate boyfriend." He said cockily as Roxas sank down on the couch next to him, groaning as his head fell back. "So what were you stressed about?" The blond inadvertently pouted, trying to take a deep breath. It was now or never.

"N-nothing, don't worry about it." Apparently it was never.

"Come on stutters, I know that's not true." Axel said quietly as he pulled Roxas' smaller body against his. "What was it?"

"Really, it's nothing important." He shrugged as much as he could while being restrained by his boyfriend's strong arms. He felt the need to know what the hell had been going on earlier, but the need to simply have Axel was stronger. Maybe he could live with the fact that Axel was cheating on him, maybe he'd just get over it.

"Fine, don't tell me. I'll figure it out later." He sighed in mild aggravation. He tried to not let it bug him that Roxas was so closed off, but he couldn't stop that irking in his stomach. "I was talking to Cloud, he said you were gone for five days once. I didn't know you could be gone that long."

"Oh, _that_." Roxas said, his voice hinting at some sort of disgust. "That wasn't the longest though." He admitted with a gentle sigh, complacently crossing his arms over his chest. "I was gone for two weeks the year before, but Cloud doesn't know about that."

"Two weeks?" Axel asked in disbelief. That seemed like an eternity compared to the measly hours he was cornered into spending with any of the alters. Roxas hummed in affirmation as he let his gaze fall on the somewhat shocked man next to him.

"I had gotten a call from the hospital saying that Cloud was in a car accident and as soon as I heard that, my mind went blank. I just remember coming to in the middle of the night, reading a book or something insignificant like that."

"Who was there instead?"

"Zexion said it was mostly Ven, so I guess I sort of lucked out. Ven is the easiest." He shrugged, trying not to pout as he watched his boyfriend nod. "I guess Ven pretended to be me when Cloud called to check in, he went to my classes, he went to work for me. So it was nice of him I suppose." Roxas rolled his eyes at his wording, he felt ridiculous referring to them as separate people though he knew, probably better than anyone, that that's what they were. Ventus was not him, Sora was not him and Xion definitely was not him.

"I'm sure Xion would've done the same. Though it might've been sort of awkward with her being a chick and all." Axel noted with apparently serious thought. How could Roxas not love him? He was always so sweet and understanding about the whole thing, knew and understood all of the people that lived within this tiny body. But maybe the fact that Roxas wasn't all there wasn't an excuse for Axel to be some sort of cheating bastard.

"How could you cheat on me?" He finally let it slip out, feeling the overwhelming urge to start weeping the second the words left his lips.

"What?" His bright green eyes wide in shock, Axel stared down at the man in his arms. Well, previously in his arms. Roxas was scrambling away, stretching himself out on the other end of the couch.

"I know something's going on. You were acting weird and Demyx was _quiet_ when I called him. Demyx is _never_ quiet unless something is wrong."

"Demyx," he groaned as he stood, digging his hands in his pockets.

"I just don't understand why you couldn't just tell me!" Roxas cried out, frowning and tucking his mouth to the side as he tried to hold back the tears.

"Oh don't cry." Axel said quietly as he kneeled in front of the couch, wiping the tears away for him. Roxas whimpered, his face in his boyfriend's hands, his thumbs gently running under his eyes. "What makes you think I'm cheating on you?"

"Why were you being so _weird_ earlier?" He pulled away, wiping his own face, trying to be angry as opposed to upset.

"Have you ever taken into consideration that my weirdness was something good?"

"No, because you shouldn't keep _good_ secrets from me. Just the bad ones, like you cheating on me!" He whined again as Axel rested his chin on his crooked knee.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have acted so obvious. I just didn't want you to find out yet."

"God I knew it!" Axel only shook his head, a smirk on his face as he slipped his hand back into his pocket.

"You're _insane_ if you think I'd ever do anything to risk what I have with you. Roxas, I love you. I'd never do anything to hurt you, you should know that by now. And that is why what I was acting weird about was this." A small, black box. Roxas stared down at it, teetering on his leg, perfectly framed against the side of Axel's face.

"What are you doing?" Breathless, patient, albeit slightly confused.

"Well I'm trying to propose to you. I was _trying_ earlier but I got Xion instead."

"What are you _talking_ about?"

"Roxas Strife, I love you. This is a ring." He tapped the box with the point of his finger. "I want you to marry me. I went all traditional and everything. I asked Cloud's permission, I bought you this ring and now all you have to do is say yes." The blond was silent, completely at a loss for words, stuck staring at the box. His eyes never left it as Axel spoke. "You have to trust me. You have to believe I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to do anything to hurt you. So say yes Roxas." Their eyes finally met and Roxas could feel his heart thumping in his ears. He took into momentary consideration what the other people within him would have to say and finally decided it didn't really matter. It was his life.

"Of course I'll marry you." He said, his frown quickly replaced with a smile and soon, Axel's lips over his own.

* * *

Oh goodness it's long, but isn't Axel such a sweet, perfect boyfriend? It's true. He is. Most of the time I make him an asshole or at least kind of a jerk but in this way he's quite sweet and honestly a little naive, but we'll see how that goes. Reviews are always appreciated :)


	3. Chapter 3

So my lovely beta, Redfaerie, is an amazing writer and I just read her story Of Silence and Skittles and holy shit guys. Holy shit. I'm not sure if many people actually know this but I don't typically read fanfic stuff, I mean just not like religiously, but fer rizzle guys, go read it. Go read it now cuz it's awesome. Anyways back to the actual story you're here to read right? Well get on with it!

* * *

"You lucky bitch!" Kairi squealed as she squeezed his hand, practically crushing his fingers as she forced him closer. "I can't believe you're engaged! And you have a ring! What the fuck, Xig is never gonna marry me." She frowned as she let his limp hand fall again. Riku rolled his eyes as he pushed past her. Roxas only smiled, too consumed by his own glee.

"Kairi, for once, let's not try and make this about you or your weird relationship."

"It's not weird!"

"He was your teacher, and now he's your live-in boyfriend." Roxas noted with a raised brow.

"I don't think it's weird," she pouted gently, ambling along behind the two men.

"Well it is. _Anyways_," Riku said, successfully pulling the attention back to the man and his engagement ring. "Congratulations, this is really exciting for both of you." He smiled, trying to look sincere but it was easy to see through. It wasn't that he _wasn't_ happy for Roxas, it's just that he was more unhappy for himself. The blond nodded in thanks, empathetically smiling at his love-suffering friend. Roxas knew it was difficult for Riku, he had tried to hide it even, but that damn Kairi and her gossiping ways... "So have you guys already started making plans or anything?"

"Riku, we just got engaged last night."

"Well I don't know how this works, don't you just start planning as soon as you get the ring on your finger?" Roxas only scoffed as he turned his attention to a store window.

"I have no idea what we're gonna do about a wedding or anything...this was a complete surprise on my end. I don't think we can even _get_ legally married here," he sighed gently as he stared into the bakery. Would it be considered fate or simple coincidence that they had walked past a window filled with wedding cakes?

"That's because this place is filled with ignorant fuck-heads." Kairi rolled her eyes as she approached him from behind, wrapping her arms around his neck, smiling at him in their reflection. "You wanna go someplace where you guys _can_ legally be husband and husband?"

"I still don't know, I haven't thought that far ahead."

"Stop bugging him," Riku said as he pulled the girl off, swinging her onto his back. He casually began walking down the street, the giggling redhead hung over his shoulders. Roxas sighed once more before prancing after them. "Try not to worry about it so much right now, just be excited to be engaged. Plan later. I mean engagements don't have to span like two months right?"

"I have no clue honestly. Before last night I hadn't even really considered that two guys could be engaged. I'm progressive as hell right?"

"Not your fault we were raised in a close minded society." The other man said with a smile. "But I'm just saying relax about it. It's exciting so just marinate in the excitement."

"Yeah yeah, I get it. Jesus." He groaned but he couldn't keep his smile down. Riku was right, why wasn't he just busy being utterly ecstatic over the fact that his boyfriend loved him enough to want to marry him? To break all sorts of conservative, social rules to actually put a ring on his finger in eager anticipation of the day they would be wed? He was excited, he was blessed, he was a lucky man, but something inside him wouldn't let him completely enjoy it. And he hated that. "Do you ever feel like your alters sort of...keep you back?" Riku stopped to simply stare blankly, Kairi's eyes peeking over his shoulder in the same deadpan manner.

"Are you kidding me?" Kairi asked as she let her brow furrow.

"Roxas, of course they do. They make everything just about a million times more difficult."

"Especially for you! You have like three of them!" She exclaimed energetically as she slid down her friend's back. "Me and Rik are lucky we've only got one," she added with a nod, watching Roxas patiently as she and Riku slapped their hands together.

"Did you really high five right now?"

"It's mandatory. Anyways," she rolled her eyes as she tried to progress. "We're your friends, not the therapists. We're not gonna feed you some crap about learning to love the alters, we live it. We realize how crappy it can be, how much of a struggle it is. Is that why you're not super stoked?"

"I suppose it's them right? I mean, I love Axel. So much. And I really am excited to marry him, but there's just...something. There's something in me that won't let me go nuts about it."

"Again, try not to worry about it."

"I'll try," Roxas agreed with a deep breath.

"Well good, now that you two have all this working out, I'm gonna go."

"I thought you were getting dinner with us?"

"Nah, it's been fun, but I'm gonna head home to Xiggy. All this wedding talk got me all hot and bothered."

"Jesus you're weird."

"Girls got needs," Kairi said with a shrug as she started towards her car. "You two wouldn't get that. Except maybe Roxas," she added with a wink and a wave.

"Lame!" Roxas called after her, but it was too late, she was already climbing into her car. "Do you still wanna get some food?"

"Sure, I could eat."

"So..."

"Don't do it."

"Do what?"

"We both know where you were going."

"I don't think you have any idea where I was going."

"Really, then go ahead."

"So..." Roxas bit his lip, gazed up at the sky, kept walking down the road. "Have you talked to Zack?"

"Gee, I _did_ know where you were going."

"I'll take that as a no then."

"He left me Roxas, why would we talk?"

"I don't know...you two were together a while. I guess it's just-"

"Yes, it's hard to just not talk to him. It kills. But it's for the best. If he can't handle it, then it should just end now." Roxas nodded in understanding. He was right after all, it was just nearly impossible to imagine what his life would be like without Axel. "You want chinese?"

~0~

"What if something goes wrong?" Roxas asked as he tapped his chopsticks against his plate, one of many nervous habits he had developed over the years.

"What could possibly go wrong?"

"I don't know, a lot of things. What if one of the alters come out when I'm doing my vows or something?"

"Have you considered going back on the meds?"

"I hate the meds," he sighed and rested his cheek against his shoulder, pouting at his friend. "They make me nauseous and jittery all the time."

"I know, not right now. But for the wedding? If you go on them like a month before, you should be fine. Then you can drop them again and go back to being crazy." Riku smirked as he lifted his glass to his mouth. Roxas sneered and rolled his eyes, showing his discontent. "I get it, but it's probably for the best."

"I don't like thinking about this. Maybe I should just let Axel plan the wedding. But what if _he_ does something wrong?"

"It's Axel, _of course_ he's gonna do something wrong."

"Oh god," he groaned as he rested his forehead on the table, only listening to the sound of Riku's chuckle. "This is gonna be bad isn't it?" He breathed out, trying to let everything go before it mounted up. Breathe, breathe, but it was too late. Everything was piling up and now he knew it was coming. "Sorry," he whispered as he felt his eyes get heavy.

"No no, just calm down." Riku begged quietly, looking around the restaurant. Roxas sat back up, taking a deep breath and turning his head side to side, cracking his neck. "Shit," he sighed and watched Roxas' eyes open. "Please be Ventus, _please_ be Ventus." He whispered as he waited for some sort of indication of who it was.

"Who are you?" Roxas' persona asked, his body leaning back in the chair, his brow cocked.

"Who are _you?_" Riku asked back, surprised at the hostility.

"Sora. Never met you before."

"Ah, Sora." Riku nodded. "I've never had the pleasure of meeting you."

"Well aren't you charming," he said with a smirk. "But you never answered, who are you?"

"I'm Riku, I'm a friend of Roxas."

"Ah, Riku." Sora nodded with a smile. "I've heard about you. I didn't know how cute you were though."

"Charming. Aren't you the slutty one?"

"Ouch, that's a little harsh don't you think?"

"No, not from what I've heard."

"What exactly have you heard?"

"That you're slutty," he replied simply.

"I have...a sexual appetite, and when I get the body, I like to satiate it."

"You realize that's Roxas cheating on Axel?"

"Neither of them count it, and besides, it's only Roxas' body. It's me doing it."

"Don't you think that hurts them though? Don't you think it hurts Axel to find out his boyfriend is sleeping with other people, even if it's just you?"

"Hey, you can't blame me. I've tried, multiple times, to sleep with Axel, but he won't touch me. I can't just sit around patiently waiting for Roxas to decide to stop being such a wimp and just come back." Riku listened to the man explain, growing angrier with each word. "So isn't it bad enough that I don't have my own body? That I'm just stuck as a fucking background character in Roxas' mind?"

"I suppose you could think of it like that."

"You're from his therapy group right?"

"Yeah."

"And you have...Terra? Your alter is Terra." Sora smirked as he laid his elbows on the table. "Have you _ever_ thought about what it's like for Terra?"

"No, I don't see-"

"_We_ get that it's hard to have these other people living inside you, sharing your space, popping in from time to time, but you never think about what it's like for us. For you, we're an occasional inconvenience, but for us, you guys are the constant. Everyone else sees us as just an annoying little quirk, just another part of you guys. But we see ourselves as separate people. Separate people who, for some reason, weren't allowed to have their own body." Riku sat silently, listening to Sora explain his side of the story, all the alters side of the story, and he could honestly say he had never thought about it. He had never taken into consideration that the alters ever thought about things like this. "And now you feel sort of guilty, I can see it in your face."

"I wouldn't call it guilt, I'm just taking things into consideration."

"Things that you've never considered before." Sora nodded, a smile still on his face. "Well at least I got you to think about it," he shrugged and picked the chopsticks up. "Never done that before."

"Maybe it's because you spend all your time with the body trying to get laid instead of talking to people."

"I'm not trying to get laid now, am I?"

"I'm not sure, are you?"

"Not even a little bit." Sora grinned as he took a bite, his eyes rolling in elation. "God, food is good. You know this is all Ven does when he gets the body?"

"Eats?" Sora nodded as he hummed affirmatively.

"We've all got something that needs to get done when we get the body. Ventus eats, Xion sleeps, and well, I guess everyone knows what I do." Sora finished with a chuckle. "But I have to admit, it's sort of nice just sitting here with you, talking, not expecting to sleep with you." It was Roxas' face, but there was something different about it. Roxas never smiled like this. "Unless of course you wanna have sex." He added with a wink as he took another bite. "But you won't because you're Roxas' friend and you'd feel like you were sleeping with Roxas and blah blah blah. I get it. I have _some _standards, _some _things I won't even try. Like Cloud. Because that is disturbing as fuck, and even though I don't consider Cloud my brother, and even though I can see that he's attractive, that's just a big ol' no in my book. Just..." He shivered, shaking his head as he tried to push the image out of his mind. "It's just creepy."

"Well I'm glad you have standards, even though for some reason those standards don't count Axel as off limits."

"I always sorta figured it wouldn't matter with Axel. I mean, I _look_ like Roxas, it's his body. And Axel is sort of crazy sexy. But alas, it won't happen."

"Have you heard they're engaged?"

"No...they're engaged?" Cautious surprise slowly took over his smile.

"Yep, happened last night." Sora stared at him with an arched brow, obviously not completely convinced. "If you'd look at your hand, you'd know." And so he did. He raised his hand to his face, letting his jaw drop when he saw the ring on his finger.

"Well," Sora said as he tried to compose himself. "I guess I'll be showing up more often. Roxas is gonna be stressed as hell about all this. I suppose I should tell the other two."

"How exactly does it work in there?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He smirked before his eyes fell, an obvious sign that he was gone now.

"Roxas?"

"Oh god," he shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Who was it?"

"It was Sora."

"Jesus, did he hit on you or anything?"

"Uh no, don't worry about it."

"Can we get outta here?"

"Absolutely," Riku said with a glance around the room, noticing the odd stares they were getting.

* * *

Ah you guys have no idea how much I love Sora in this story, and I think you guys will too! This one was short but hopefully worth the wait for the most part. Reviews are, as always, absolutely appreciated!


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